1996–2001
We'll Build Them a Golden Bridge, Destroyer's 1996 debut, is made up of sixteen lo-fi home-recordings. One reviewer suggested that the album combines Bejar's "gift for melodies" with “a concerted effort to make the recording downright inconsumable; the guitars are always out of tune, and the vocals of Fisher-Price quality. 'Static means punk / tuning is junk,' Bejar moans on one track.” [5] (Ideas for Songs, released on cassette in 1997, features songs akin to those on his first album. The cassette stemmed from a request to contribute songs for a compilation album.[6])
As Bejar gained popularity in Vancouver's music scene, he was joined by producer John Collins for 1998's City of Daughters, which was recorded at a proper studio. Pitchfork noted that the songs still sounded "homespun," also noting "[t]he wordiness that would become something of a trademark is in full effect," but that "unlike much of what came later, not every line is worthy of examination."[7]
Thief (2000) embodied "Bejar's first stab at matching his grandiose, idiosyncratic vision to a showier sound;" it was the first to feature a backing band on every track.[8] The record's "anthemic yet understated"[9] piano-driven ballads have characteristically enigmatic lyrics, though some reviewers interpreted them as critiques of the music industry.[10][11]
Streethawk: A Seduction (2001) realized the sonic refinement started with City of Daughters. Bejar put it this way: "I don't think it gives credence to any kind of conceptualization of the records, but I hope that City of Daughters, Thief, and Streethawk will pop into some kind of a progression that ends with Streethawk.“ [12] A critical success, the album (retrospectively) received a rating of 9.1/10 from Pitchfork.[7]
2002–2007
The 2002 rock album This Night was a dramatic change in style. The looser, less rehearsed style was criticized as "messy [and] haphazard without purpose,"[13] though other critics praised the "beautiful mess of sounds" as "challenging... [and] a powerful, cohesive whole."[11] In a 2006 interview (after the release of Your Blues and Destroyer's Rubies), Bejar said the album "came together pretty quickly - we probably could have used more than four or five days to mix the whole thing, but that's all hindsight. It's still my favorite Destroyer record."[12]
Your Blues (2004) saw Destroyer take another unexpected turn, using MIDI instrumentation for almost all the backing music. Bejar coined the term "European blues" to describe its unique, theatrical sound.[14] One reviewer pointed out that "Bejar’s unusual voice sounds more confident, and higher up" in the synth-rich arrangements.[15] In yet another twist, the EP Notorious Lightning & Other Works reworked six tracks from the record with a live band, the very thing the LP had forsaken (the band was Frog Eyes, who toured with Destroyer in support of Your Blues).
Bejar returned with a live band for 2006's Destroyer's Rubies, delivering arguably his most confident record up to that point. The backing band took new-found prominence and, according to Bejar, "[t]he production seems... warm and lush and pretty focused on just making the band sound good and having everything sit well together."[12] NOW Magazine observed, "[w]hile the sheer density of Bejar’s writing can be overwhelming, Destroyer’s Rubies is, on a musical level, the most ’accessible’ disc he’s released."[16]
2008–2013
For Trouble in Dreams (2008), "there was a scary lack of ideas coming into the record," Bejar admitted.[17] Destroyer's piano player Ted Bois took it upon himself, as an alternative to keyboard and piano accompaniment, to create all string and synth arrangements for the songs.[17] At the time, Bejar said it was the "hardest record" to make.[17]
After the 2009 EP Bay of Pigs came 2011's full-length album, Kaputt (featuring a slightly modified "Bay of Pigs" track). Bejar cited influences such as Miles Davis and Roxy Music for his new jazz-infused, lounge music-inspired, sophisti-pop direction. In multiple interviews, Bejar variously stressed that he "sang in a completely different manner, almost unconscious of even singing, more like speaking into a vacuum, and was really happy with the results."[18][19] The record entailed a number of firsts for Destroyer: first national television performance (on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon); first official music video; first female backing vocals; and the first time Bejar performed without an instrument on tour - his concentration placed solely on his singing. Kaputt was short listed for the 2011 Polaris Music Prize [20] and was Pitchfork's second best album of 2011.[21]
Although smaller in scale, Destroyer's fourth EP "Five Spanish Songs" continued to surprise listeners. Sung entirely in Spanish, Bejar covered songs by Sr. Chinarro (es). Bejar's own tongue-in-cheek press release announcing the new songs began: "It was 2013. The English language seemed spent, despicable, not easily singable."[22]
2014–present
Bejar released Poison Season on August 28, 2015. Bejar notes that the album's sound grew from "just really getting into what we were sounding like playing live [following Kaputt]."[4] Bejar added that he would not have been able to make such an ambitious album if Kaputt had not been successful.[23] Recorded with a live band and a pronounced string section, the album's "grand cinematic set of songs"[23] feature Bejar singing with a broader range than before: "This is the first record that I've ever done that comes close to my idea of myself as a singer," Bejar said.[24]
In 2017, Bejar released ken.
Beggars Might Ride
Destroyer Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When humiliation gets taught
And humility does not have the ability to move a muscle
Don't do the Hustle
Beggars might ride
You've heard of the sea versus the scenery
Where every time a man goes overboard
Hey, distro king for the hearing impaired
I'm starting to think I know why you were spared
Paradise felt fine, what's yours was mine
Collaborators fuck us every time
Beggars might ride
You're taking rides with the sensitive miser
Taking sides with the new sympathizers
Girl, what could have been 'til you gave up the violin
For a slight but distasteful penchant for men
Beggars might ride
You've heard it said and it's true
For someone so beautifully scarred
I imagine it must be hard
To stay away from a life of public relations
But try, girl, you've got to try
You've got to stay critical or die
Stay critical or die
The lyrics of this Destroyer song describe the dangers of allowing oneself to be influenced by beggars or people who may not have the best intentions. The opening lines suggest that beggars might ride someone into doing something they may not have wanted to do, especially when they feel humiliated. Humility, on the other hand, may not have the power to prevent someone from being influenced.
The refrain of "Beggars might ride" is repeated throughout the song, emphasizing the idea that these influences are not to be trusted. The lyrics also touch on themes of collaboration and betrayal, with lines like "Collaborators fuck us every time." The second verse addresses the idea of taking sides with those who may not have our best interests at heart. The line "For a slight but distasteful penchant for men" suggests that the person in question may be giving up who they truly are to cater to the opinions of others.
The lyrics conclude with a call to stay critical, to avoid being swayed by outside influences and to "stay away from a life of public relations." The song paints a picture of a world in which we must be mindful of those who may be trying to influence us and ensure that we remain true to ourselves.
Line by Line Meaning
Beggars might ride you into doing one thing
Being influenced by someone who has nothing to offer you other than beggary, may push you to do what they need.
When humiliation gets taught
When someone is shamed or degraded, it becomes a lesson for them to understand where they stand.
And humility does not have the ability to move a muscle
Humility is not always enough to make someone act; it takes more than just humbleness.
Don't do the Hustle
Don't just go along with whatever seems easy or popular, without putting in the effort to question if it's the right choice.
You've heard of the sea versus the scenery
You've heard the comparison between the reality of living on the sea (with all its dangers) versus the beauty of seeing it from afar.
Where every time a man goes overboard
Every time someone takes a risk and fails, it's like they are thrown overboard, and it's noticeable to everyone around them.
It sounds like somebody's scoring on Beggars' Night
It seems like every failure is adding up, creating a tally for the losers on Beggars' Night.
Hey, distro king for the hearing impaired
Hey, you who are good at distributing things, even though you don't seem to understand them yourself.
I'm starting to think I know why you were spared
I'm starting to believe that you got lucky because you didn't see what was going wrong in the situation.
Paradise felt fine, what's yours was mine
The situation felt perfect to you, but you only cared about yourself and what you were getting out of it, regardless of what it cost anyone else.
Collaborators fuck us every time
People who work with us or help us, often end up hurting us in some way or another.
You're taking rides with the sensitive miser
You're letting a cautious and miserly person lead you, even though they are not generous enough with their knowledge or experience.
Taking sides with the new sympathizers
Agreeing with a group of people who recently started to care about something and show sympathy, without fully understanding what it takes to solve the problem.
Girl, what could have been 'til you gave up the violin
Girl, you had so much potential until you let go of the thing that made you special and unique.
For a slight but distasteful penchant for men
For a small and unpleasant preference for men, that didn't add anything to your character or make you a better person.
You've heard it said and it's true
You've heard before, and it's still accurate.
For someone so beautifully scarred
For someone who's been through tough times and still managed to stay beautiful, inside and out.
I imagine it must be hard
I can only guess how difficult it is.
To stay away from a life of public relations
To avoid getting caught up in the fake and superficial world of public relations that can strip you off your true self.
But try, girl, you've got to try
But give it your best shot, girl, you have to at least try your hardest.
You've got to stay critical or die
You need to stay thoughtful and analytical about things, or you'll get consumed by the shallow and meaningless aspects of life.
Lyrics © SC PUBLISHING DBA SECRETLY CANADIAN PUB.
Written by: Daniel Bejar, Robert McBeth, Scott Morgan, Stephen Michael Wood, Ted Hamilton
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind